1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to telecommunications services and, more particularly, to a method and system for using a customized profile management code to manage sending an e-mail from a subscriber entity.
2. Description of Related Art
Electronic messaging (“e-mail”) is becoming an increasingly popular way for people to communicate with each other. Typically, a message sender uses a computer connected to a network and sends a message to a recipient who is using a computer connected to the same or another network. With a growing popularity of wireless telephones, service providers have developed techniques to provide Internet access and e-mail services to wireless telephone users.
Short Messaging Service technology, commonly referred to as “SMS,” enables users to send messages using their wireless telephones. SMS, otherwise known as text messaging, mobile messaging, or alphanumeric paging, is a digital cellular network feature that enables subscribers to send short text and numeric messages to and from wireless phones.
While SMS is convenient and often cost effective, there are several drawbacks of using it compared to using standard e-mail messages. Even though both e-mail and SMS utilize gateways to send messages from senders to recipients, the most obvious differences between the two are the possible length and complexity of the messages. SMS messages are limited to between 80 to 500 characters depending on the service provider, and a typical SMS message is about 120 characters. Further, while e-mail enables users to attach files, embed images, and make use of Hypertext Markup Language (“HTML”), SMS messages are limited to text and numerical characters.
Therefore, many wireless telephone users prefer to send e-mail messages rather than SMS messages. One of the existing mechanisms that may be employed to send an e-mail message from a wireless telephone handset involves use of a wireless web interface. This mechanism requires a user to access a web application server and then type an e-mail address and message to be sent to a recipient. While this mechanism enables users to send e-mails, the majority of users cannot type e-mail addresses and text messages very quickly and conveniently using wireless telephone keypads, due to typical keypad limitations. Consequently, a need exists for a method of sending e-mail messages from telephone handsets.